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Tokyo carries Asian markets higher
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Asian stocks are mainly higher by midday Friday, pushed forward by better-than-expected economic growth figures in Japan. Government data released Friday morning showed Japan's economy grew by 0.5 percent in the December quarter over the previous quarter. That has lifted the Nikkei 225 average by 1.61 percent to 8,738.18 at the break. The broader TOPIX index is 0.94 percent firmer at 861.03. Singapore and Hong Kong are also ahead strongly, while South Korea and Taiwan are drifting lower after opening in the black. But Australia is continuing its slide, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 off 0.58 percent to 2,818.9, another fresh low since the inception of the index in April 2000. New Zealand also dipped slightly, closing 0.14 percent lower. A third day of falls on Wall Street put a modest brake on Asia's gains. On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average finished 0.11 percent lower at 7,749.87, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 0.12 percent to 1,277.44. (Full story) Exporters make gains
Japanese export-oriented stocks are higher, with good gains by Hitachi (up 2.37 percent to 519 yen) and Fujitsu (up 2.1 percent) to 340 yen. Toshiba is 1.37 percent higher at 369 yen and Sony is ahead 0.87 percent to 4,660 yen. Telecom stocks are also up, with the market's biggest stock NTT DoCoMo ahead by 0.81 percent to 248,000 yen. Parent NTT is more than 2 percent higher, while KDDI and Japan Telecom are showing similar-sized gains. Some of the big banks are firmer. UFJ Holdings is up 1.81 percent to 169,000 yen and SMFG is up 1.24 percent to 408,000 yen. MTFG is slightly higher, but Mizuho Holdings, the world's biggest bank by assets, has given up early gains to be down 0.71 percent at 140,000 yen. Japan's Cabinet Office said before the market opened that the economy grew 0.5 percent in real terms in the three months to December. The figure surprised most economists, who were expecting a contraction. The market is also watching the Bank of Japan's two-day policy-setting meeting which concludes Friday. The BOJ is expected to keep its policy unchanged. Any drastic change in policy is unlikely before the Japanese government announces a successor to BOJ Governor Masaru Hayami, whose five-year term ends on March 19, they said. More caution elsewhere
Other Asian markets are not as bullish as Japan. South Korea's Kospi is down about 0.4 percent at 573.21 in early afternoon trading. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics is 0.18 percent softer at 271,000 won and investor favorite SK Telecom is down 0.62 percent at 161,500 won. Gainers include telco KT Corp, steel giant Posco, Cho Hung Bank and Korea Exchange Bank. Hynix Semiconductor is up 6.82 percent to 235 won. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index has slipped to the lowest level since its inception in April 2000 as the market struggles with a stream of unsettling news for investors. Market leader BHP Billiton is off 1.21 percent to A$8.98 and Telstra is down 0.46 percent to A$.4.29, a record low. Media player News Corporation -- which filed an upbeat quarterly profit report on Thursday -- has fallen 1.47 percent to A$10.70. New Zealand's NZSE Top 40 index closed 0.14 percent weaker at 1921.05. Telecom NZ finished unchanged at NZ$4.45. Hong Kong aheadIn Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is up firmly, putting on 0.8 percent to 9,245.61. Big bank HSBC is about 1 percent higher at HK$83.25. Bluechip property stocks and telcos are also firmer. That gain is being matched in Singapore, where the Straits Times index is ahead by about 0.75 percent to 1,277.81. DBS Group, Singapore's biggest bank, is up more than 2 percent to S$9.85. Taiwan's Taiex is down 0.73 percent to 4,474.97, continuing its run of declines and matching the downturn in the United States. The falls are heaviest among industrials and financial institutions. In contrast, selected technology stocks are doing well. Chip foundry TSMC is up 2 percent to T$41.00 and small rival UMC is 1.55 percent higher at T$19.70. Reuters contributed to this report.
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